I maintain my ND myself but my wife’s new Mazda 3 went in for its first £205 oil change and cup of coffee (a.k.a 1st official mail dealer service) the other day. The owner’s manual explains in some detail how important it is to rotate the wheels every 6,500 miles, but this isn’t part of an official service. I thought about asking the dealer to do it but it goes without saying that they would do the rotation wrongly. So I did it myself and, surprisingly, the difference in wear was obvious even after only 11,500 miles. Incidentally the ND is much easier to jack up than the 3 because the ND has central jacking points for a trolley-jack. The 3 seems to be designed so as to discourage owner maintenance.
I don’t recommend using the central jacking point on the front, I’ve known of atleast two people to have taken out the steering system when its slipped off the jack. The rear one is fine and I use it all the time when putting the car away each winter or for doing clean up jobs with the wheels off. I wouldn’t use it when working under the car.
How do you jack yours, Gareth? I have used the front point but I don’t like doing so because it is such a long way from the front and it is difficult to locate the jack. You’ve got me worried now!
I mostly use the side sills but have 2 x Arcan jacks with durable jack pads to prevent any damage to the sills. I also jack from the rear central point (near the rear differential), I NEVER jack on the front central point, doing so is asking for trouble.